Trains first came to Colorado’s mountain towns in the late 1880s thanks in large part to mining operations, including the Pikes Peak gold rush. Now, well more than a century later, our underutilized mountain tracks have struck a new kind of gold – funding from the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. And this gold rush has the potential to spur a second rail revolution, not just for mountain towns, but for the entire state.

In Routt and Moffat counties, mining and rail continue to be intricately linked as coal continues to move on our well-established tracks. However, with the imminent closure of our coal-fired power plants, we are well-poised for the second rail revolution which could, and should, include a return to passenger rail.

With Colorado’s population projected to grow to 7.5 million people by 2050, passenger rail must be a part of our transportation future. State highways are strained to their max as people from our growing cities renew and recharge by visiting our thriving mountain towns. Escalating housing prices in these mountain towns have driven the local workforce to neighboring communities, increasing the dire need for better, safer, climate-friendly commuting alternatives. Mountain rail has the promise to be this alternative.

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All eyes are on us as we grapple with what it means to make a “just transition.” As we move away from emissions-heavy energy systems, we must also recognize these systems, and the workers who have operated them, have supported us for many years. Now it’s our turn. We owe it to them to seek future-oriented transportation solutions that will reduce commuting costs and create jobs and opportunity.

With revived passenger rail and the promise of new incentives for freight and manufacturing, the possibilities for the growth of new and existing industries in Routt and Moffat counties are limitless. We will need a talented workforce to operate, staff and service the rail line. And we will need staff for small businesses and outdoor industries as mountain rail connects more visitors to this place we are so proud to call home.

Back in the late 1800s, Colorado’s topography was the obstacle to construction of new rail. Time and technology have fixed that. Funding, or lack thereof, has derailed progress on planning for mountain rail for decades. Our elected officials have declined to place the burden of paying for a project of this scale on the backs of taxpayers who are struggling to shift away from the industries that have sustained them and their families for generations. But with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill funding is no longer a barrier. Times have changed.

Whether you agree with the federal government funding these types of infrastructure improvements or not, the money is out there. And if it doesn’t come to Colorado, it’ll go somewhere else. That Colorado’s mountain rail projects have received this attention is cause for celebration, but we would be wise to treat it as a call to action too. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide a benefit to Coloradans in just transition communities and beyond – let’s mine the gold we see in front of us.

Sonja Macys is a Routt County commissioner and board member of Colorado Communities for Climate Action.